Leicester Tigers have had a disastrous couple of seasons, going from being historically the most successful side in English rugby history, and dominating European rugby at the end of the last century, to being a struggler, trying to remain in the league each season.
However, they have had moments where they have proven that the Tigers of old is still in there, somewhere. This try was one of those few and far-between moments, as we shall see.
This image shows us in one go how the try was scored.
Firstly, Exeter Chiefs, who Leicester are playing, have a defensive line that is angled slightly inwards, rather than being flat. That closes down the area where the ball is, as you can see. Leicester have taken the ball from a breakdown, with now former winger Jonny May nipping in to pass the ball towards England fly-half George Ford.
That brings us to the situation in the image above. Ford sees that he is not going to achieve anything by passing the ball down the line, as that would mean Leicester would risk losing the ground they have gained, especially with Exeter defending as tightly as they are.
However, Jordan Taufua, who it should be remembered is a flanker, is running up the wing, as you can see by the black circle and arrow on the far side of the pitch. He has space ahead of him, and Ford plays the ball out to the New Zealander with a kick forward, as the green arrow shows. It is weighted perfectly, and Taufua catches it and runs forward.
He does still need to shake off the one defender behind the main Chiefs’ defensive line, in the white square, but, being that the contest is a heavy forward against a back, Taufua manages to shrug him off and score a brilliant try for the Tigers. It was a sign that, despite the hardships on the pitch over the last few years for Leicester, they are still capable of moments of magic like this one.
